Safaricom to Adopt Finger and Facial Recognition to Curb Sim Fraud

Safaricom will introduce the use of finger and facial recognition in enhancing new security measures to curb SIM fraud.
In the event a SIM swap occurs, mobile money transactions will be suspended briefly to prevent fraudsters from accessing customer funds held in M-PESA accounts.

“SIM fraud has been a huge pain point for our customers and we have taken these concerns very seriously. Our customers remain at the center of everything that we do and in the next couple of months, we will put in place measures that will help us address this issue as we also work closely with DCI and the police,” said Bob Collymore, CEO Safaricom.  
In 2017, Safaricom introduced a voice biometrics system that enables customers to access services known as Jitambulishe which allows customers to use their voices for authentication before accessing assisted services such as resetting M-PESA PIN, and PUK requests, significantly cutting down the steps a customer goes through before they are assisted.
The telco also introduced use of a unique voiceprint for enrolled customers to further reduce fraud and identity theft.
“We are redesigning our customer care approach to remain in line with shifting trends in the market and to take advantage of emerging technologies. The introduction of Voice Biometrics will be a major step towards reducing fraud and identity theft, providing us with ways to serve our customers even better,” said Joseph Ogutu, Director Strategy, Safaricom.